US2790398A - Dough-forming machine - Google Patents

Description

April 3o, 1957 L ORR DOUGH-FORMING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed OCT.. 19, 1954 INVENTOR sm. Iv m, n

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ATTORNEY)r E0/mep, 02e

April 30, 1957 L. ORR

DoUGH-FORMING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 19, 1954 INVENTOR fo/mea @ee ATTORNEYS United States Patent DOUGH-FORMING :MA-CHINE Leonard Orr, Chicago, AIll., as'signor'of twenty-'five percent each to Herbert L. Callaway and Charles T. Brock, Jr., both of Chicago, -Ill.

ApplicationOctober 19, 1954, Serial No. 463,155 4 Claims. .'(cl. .1m-2s) The :present invention Vrelates to 'dough-forming machines adapted for 'flattening .2a roll of dough Sand forming :it into dough pieces such as biscuits, cookies, andthe like.

The primary object of the present invention is to providea machine for receiving la piece -or roll of dough and discharging it as 'a .series of formed dough pieces such as biscuits, cookies, ta'rts or other shapes and forms.

Another 'onject of Ithe present :invention is to provide 1a machine having a pair 'of endless belts or conveyors which receive the dough piece or roll between them and `by pressure `of the fb'elts 'or conveyors 'upon `the dough piece lor Vroll convert the dough into a web and deliver it to a cutting device which separates it into individual dough pieces.

A further `object ofthe present invention is :to provide a unitary machine fen'closed within a housing having an inlet for the dough `vpiece or roll 'and an outlet for the dis- 'charge of the dough pieces a's formed within the housing, the inlet and outlet being at the same end of the housing.

A still further object of 'the present -invention 'is to provide Va unitary machine 'having a pair of endless belts or conveyors, the lower one `of which may be moved upwardlyand downwardly loutof and into a pan in which our'may .be placed so that the endless belt or conveyor may receive an application of flour `to prevent the dough from sticking.

Yet :another object 'of the present invention is to provide 'a unitary machine 'including a `housing -having endless belts removable from th'e housing for cleaning, and one which is simple in Vconstruction and economical to manufacture, Vva's 'well-as one which will expedite the manufacture of cookies, biscuits, for the like and `will eliminate hand -l'abor in suc'h manufacture.

These and other objects land advantages of the present invention will be 'fully apparent 'from the following description when taken in connection with the annexed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side view in elevation partially broken away to show some of the working elements of the present invention,

Figure 2 is aside view in cross section showing some of the elements in side elevation,

Figure 3 is an end view partially in cross section on `line 3-3 'of Figure l,

Figure 4 is a greatly enlarged detailed view partially in cross section taken on line 4-4 of Figure 1,

Figure `5 is an 'end view Vin 'cross section on line 5 5 of Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is a sectional lview of one of the cutting elements ofthe present invention.

Referring in 'greater detail to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the invention is seen to consist of a base indicated by the reference numeral 10, and a housing or frame 11 arranged upstandingly over the base 16.

A lpair of endless belts or conveyors 12 and 13 are ICC positioned within the frame I1"1 in superimposed spaced relation with respect to each other. Each of the conveyors 12 and 13 are supported on a 'plurality [of rollers. vThe lower conveyor 12, as shown in Figure 2, is 'seen to be supported on the 'rollers 14, '15, 1'6, and 17, while the upper 'one of the lconveyors '13 -is supported upon the rollers 1:8, 19, and 20, with the block y21 spaced between the rollers 1S and 19 'and `the block 22 spaced `between the `rollers `19' and 20.

`Referring-to Figures 3 and 4, the roller y1611s seen to be fse'cured'to ta 'shaft 23 which terminates in a atportion `124- which is V'received in 'the 'slot v25 formed in the bifur- -Cafea end 126 er a bushing 127 lwhich lis paraauy within the 'sleeve V23 and secured to one end of the Vshafft l'29, as seenmost clearly in Figure -4. The shaft "29 "is `Vsupported in the horizontally disposed support bars 30 and 31, one on 'each lside of the vdrive pulley 32, -and 'the head 33 "o't' the 'shaft '29 being per'ened `over to prevent slipping of the bars on 'the sh'aft 29. The-other end of roller 16Ui`s similarly supported from a bar 3i) extending along the other -side wall of frame 11 (Fig. '3); and rollers 14, 15 'and .17 are provided with 'shafts corresponding Vto shaft Z9 and smilarly supported in the bars' yand 31.

The frafrnre 151 'is provided 'with a sidewall Jlaiiarrd the opposite 'side wallli which fhave 'vertically'extending slots 'indicated by th'e re'ferencefnunieral 35 in which the shafts 29 of the rollers 14, 215, 16, and r17 `are movable up 'and `down toward and Aaway 'fro'm a pan 36 'carried by 'the fba'se 10.

'Each of the rollers 18, 19 'and 20 are similarly journalledin bars V3i' and-38. As seen in Figure 3 the roller 19 has its shaft 39 supported in a Ystructure similar to ythat `shownror shaft 23 fin Figure 2.1, and a bushing '(40, thesha'ft 39 being supported vin "an aperture in fthe wall '34.

Longitudinally yextending within the frame 11 'on 'each side of the conveyors 12 a'nd 13 are side plates '41 and 42which serve 'to 'keep "the dough within the passage .formed by the upper Hight "of the conveyor 412 and the lower night of vthe conveyor 13, also within the `space between the side edges of the upper ilight of the upper conveyor 13.

The vertically extending connector bars 43 'are secured to the outer vbar 3S Vat'their vupper ends and each provided with a slot 44 'in which a Ppin 45 is movable upwardly and downwardly to'car'ry 'the outer bar 31 of the lower one of the conveyors, 'as -shown most clearly in Figure 4. Bars 37 are fsiinilarl-y connected by Abars '43 to the underlying bars r36.

A .pair 'of 'rods 46 'secured i'u holes formed in the walls 34 extend transversely across the frame :above the base each being secured `to the eccentric cam bodies 47 which are in engagement 'with the cam Vbars `V48 on each side of the frame. The cam bars '548 support the support bars 31 for upward Sand downward movement as -shiftedby the handle@ on t'he'outside of the frame 11. The handle 49 has a protruding button which 'seats `itself in any one of the holes indicated by the reference numeral 50 in Figure 1,th'ere being suitable indicia adjacent to leach 'of the vholes to indicate the spacing of the upper flight 'of the conveyor 12 from the lower flight of vthe conveyor 13. lt will be seen th'atthe p'an 36 extends and is movable out o the opening in one 'end ofthe fraineto the 'position indicated in 'dotted 'lines in Figure 2 ett-35'. ln 'order to withdraw the pan 36, it is necessary to turn the erank 49 to A.raise the conveyor 122 above `the sides of the pan. In its downward position, the conveyor 12 receives Hour put in the pan in order that 'dough carried by the conveyors through the passage formed by the 'upper flight of one and the lower flight of the-other will not adhere to the covering of the lowerconveyor.-

Within the frame above and lspaced lfrom the upper igllt of the upper-one vof the conveyors, the conveyor 173 3 Vthat is, is an assembly of dough piece-forming elements each consisting of a shaping device 51 connected on the lower end of a Aslidable shaft 52 journalled in a bracket 53 and connected at its upper end to the link 54 carried by the crank shaft 55.

Bushings 56 on each side of the frame 11 support the crank shaft S for rotative movement by means of which the piece-forming elements are movable toward and away from the upper flight of the conveyor 13. One end of the crank shaft 55 is provided with a pulley 57, and a belt 58 connects the pulley 57 with the pulley 59 shown in Figure l, which is associated with the roller 19. A belt 60 connects the pulley S9 with the roller 20 and crossed belts 61 and 62 at each end of the frame connect the `rollers 14 to the rollers 18, andthe roller 17 to the roller 20, respectively. As shown in dotted lines in Figure l a main drive pulley 63 on the end of the shaft of a mttor drive indicated by the reference numeral 64 is connected to the pulley S7 by another drive belt 65. Covers 67 are secured to the frame side wall 34 by means of the metal screws indicated generally by they reference numeral 68.

Means for adjusting the tension of the drive belt 65 and the belt 58 are provided in the knurled thumb screws 69, as shown in Figure 1.

The frame 11 is provided at one end with a hinged door 70 which is movable to the position shown in Figure 2 by the reference numeral 70 and at the other end is provided with another door 71 which is movable to the position, in the same ligure, indicated by the reference numeral 71', at which position it forms a delivery table or shelf for the outlet of the machine and in longitudinal alignment with the upper flight of the upper conveyor 13. A formed bracket 72, as shown in Figure 2, bridges the gap between the end of the frame and the conveyor 13. Immediately below the bracket 72 is another door 73 swingable to the downward position and provided with a roller 74 which assists in the passage of a roll or lump of dough into the passage formed by the upper ight of the conveyor 12 and the lower iight of the conveyor 13, the action of the ights of the conveyors on the dough being to change the roll or lump of dough into a dough web. The door 73 is swingable upwardly to the position shown in dotted lines at 73 in Figure 2 to cover the inlet which is in alignment with the dough-forming passage. At the other end of the frame remote from the inlet is a curved plate 75, having substantially the same curvature Y as the roller 18 and extending from the point where the dough is delivered from the passage upwardly to a position where it will deliver the dough web to the upper ight of the conveyor 13. The curved plate 75 forms a trans- .fer means for the dough and has a lip 76 which is in sliding contact with the surface of the conveyor 12.

In Figure 6, the dough piece forming element is shown in detail with the shaping device having tapering walls 77 and apertures 78 to permit the air to escape when the shaping device is pressed into the dough as it comes over the upper ight of the conveyor 13. It is important that the wall 77 have edges sharp enough to sever the dough without damaging the covering of the conveyor 13. The block 22 supports the conveyor in opposition to the stroke of the shaping device 51.

The motor drive 64 is provided with a connection 79 by means of which power may be supplied to it and a switch 80 is within convenient reach for control of the motor.

In operation, the dough is fed to the passage between the conveyor 12 and the conveyor 13 preferably in the shape of a long roll, although lumps may also be fed to it, the pressure of the surface of each of the conveyors and the constricted passage formed between the respective rollers and the blocksworks the dough to a web form before it vis discharged from the end of thepassage and delivered to the top ight of the upper conveyor 13 where the reciprocating motion up and down of the shaping device 51 cuts the dough into suitable portions. 0bviously, the shaping device may be of any form desired, for the purpose intended, whether to cut cookies, candy, biscuits, before it is delivered at the outlet. The feet 81 support the machine of the present invention upon any surface indicated by the reference numeral 82, in Figure 3. While notshown, some means of adjustment may be provided to keep each of the rollers operating on a horizontal axis. The rollers of each of the conveyors may be also provided with tightening devices in order that the coverings of the conveyors be kept in a taut condition. The roller 18 is formed with cleats or pins 82 which project through slots 83 in the cover of the upper conveyor to assist in carrying the dough to the upper ight of the conveyor 13.

An important feature of the invention is that the covers 67 on either side may be easily removed permitting the rollers to be readily removed from the frame for cleaning and sterilizing, the rollers each having the flat portion on its supporting shaft readily removable from the bushings which support them.

While only a single embodiment of the present invention has been here illustrated and described, it is believed that other embodiments may be made and practiced within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A dough piece forming machine comprising a base, an opstanding frame carried on said base, a pair of endless conveyors arranged in superimposed spaced relation positioned within said frame, each of said conveyors including a plurality of rollers rotatable about spaced horizontal axes and an endless belt running over said rollers, the belt of each conveyor having a horizontally disposed upper and a lower Hight, the lower flight of the belt of the upper conveyor overlying and spaced from the upper flight of the belt of the lower conveyor and defining a dough web forming passage, a dough piece forming element positioned within said frame above and spaced from the upper flight of the upper conveyor and being movable toward and away from the upper ight of the upper conveyor, a block positioned in the space between the upper and lower ights of said upper conveyor and supporting said forming element, an inlet in said frame and in alignment with said passage for introducing dough to be formed into said passage, transfer means within said frame opposite to said inlet for directing the dough web discharged from said passage to the upper flight of the upper one of said conveyors, and an outlet in said frame spaced above said inlet for discharging the preformed dough pieces from the upper ight of said upper conveyor, said transfer means embodying a curved plate positioned in spaced relation with respect to the roller of the upper conveyor adjacent to the part of the frame opposite the inlet, and cleats carried by said last mentioned roller and projecting through the belt of said upper conveyor.

2. A dough piece forming machine comprising a base, an upstanding frame carried on said base, a pair of endless conveyors arranged in superimposed spaced relation position within said frame, each of said conveyors including a plurality of rollers rotatable about spaced horizontal axes and an endless belt running over said rollers, the belt of each conveyor having a horizontally disposed upper and a lower Eight, the lower ilight of the belt of the upper conveyor overlying and spaced from the upper Hight of the belt of the lower conveyor and dening a dough web forming passage, the lower one 'of said conveyors being movable toward and away from the upper one of said conveyors, a dough piece forming element positioned within said frame above and spaced from the upper Hight of the upper conveyor and being movable toward and away from the upper flight of the upper conveyor, a block positioned in the space between the upper and lower ights of said upper conveyor and supporting said forming element, an inlet in said frame and in alignment mamans with said passage for introducing dough to be formed into said passage, transfer means within said frame opposite to said inlet for directing the dough web discharged from said passage to the upper ight of the upper one ol said conveyors, and an outlet in said frame spaced above said inlet for discharging the preformed dough pieces from the upper Hight of said upper conveyor, Ysaid transfer means embodying a curved plate positioned in spaced Arelation with respect to the roller of the upper conveyor adjacent to the part of the frame opposite the inlet, a lip on the lower end of said plate and in sliding contact with the upper ight of said lower conveyor, and cleats carried by said last mentioned roller and projecting through the belt of said upper conveyor.

3. A dough piece forming machine comprising a base, an upstanding frame carried on said base, a pair of cndless conveyors arranged in superimposed spaced relation positioned within said frame, each of said conveyors including a plurality of rollers rotatable about spaced horizontal axes and an endless belt running over said rollers,-

the belt of each conveyor having a horizontally disposed upper and a lower ight, the lower tiight of the belt of the upper conveyor overlying and spaced from the upper flight of the belt of the lower conveyor `and defining a dough web forming passage, the lower one of said `conveyors being movable toward and away from the upper one of said conveyors, a dough piece forming element positioned within said frame above and spaced from the upper flight of the upper conveyor and being movable toward and away from the upper ilight of the upper conveyor, a block positioned in the space between the upper and lower flights of said upper conveyor and supporting said forming element, an inlet in said frame and in alignment with said passage for introducing dough to be formed into said passage, transfer means within said frame opposite to said inlet for directing the dough web discharged from said passage to the upper flight of the upper one of said conveyors, an outlet in said frame spaced above said inlet for discharging the preformed dough pieces from the upper ight of said upper conveyor, and means within said frame for applying flour to the lower one of -said conveyors, said transfer means embodying a curved plate positioned in spaced relation with respect to the roller of the upper conveyor adjacent to the part `of the frame opposite the inlet, a lip on the lower end of said plate and in sliding contact with the upper ight of said lower conveyor, and cleats carried by said last mentioned roller and projecting through the Ibelt of said upper conveyor.

4. A dough piece forming machine comprising a base, an upstanding frame carried on said base, a pair of endless conveyors yarranged in superimposed spaced relation positioned within said frame', each of `said conveyors including a plurality of rollers rotatable about spaced horizontal axes and an endless beltrunning over said rollers, the belt of each conveyor having an upper and lower Hight, the lower Hight of the belt of the upper conveyor overlying and spaced from the upper flight of the belt of the lower conveyorand defining a dough web forming passage, the lower one of said conveyors `being movable toward and away from the upper one of said conveyors,

convey-or and being movable toward and away from thel upper ilight of the upper conveyor, a block positioned in the space between the upper and lower ights of said upper conveyor and supporting said forming element, an inlet in said frame and in alignment with said passage for introducing dough to be formed into said passage, transfer means `within said frame opposite to said inlet for directing the dough web discharged from sai-d passage to the upper light of the upper one of said conveyors, an outlet in said frame spaced above said inlet for discharging the preformed dough pieces from said upper conveyor, and a pan for flour detachably carried by said base within said frame and beneath the lower flight of the lov/eroneV of said conveyors, said lower conveyor belt being movable into said pan for the application of iiour to said conveyor and out of said pan to permit removal of said pan from said frame.

References Cited in the tile of this patent

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